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Jim Maier

Entering his eighth season at the helm of the Toros softball program in 2008, head coach Jim Maier has averaged 36 wins a season, and reached the NCAA postseason for four of the last five campaigns.  In his tenure, Maier attained the 200-win mark on February 28, 2006, in a 3-0 win over the University of Mary, and guided that 2006 squad to the NCAA West Regional Championship Series after sending the nation’s top ranked team in Humboldt State home after a dramatic 3-2 semifinal victory.
   
In a rebuilding 2007 year that saw the Toros welcome eight freshmen and seven transfers, and have one pitcher at their disposal, the results were sub-par 22-30 overall and 10-22 CCAA records, leading to a 7th-place finish in conference en route to missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 campaign.  What the season did provide, however, was a foundation for 2008 and the years to come, along with one All-Region and five All-CCAA players to add to Maier’s litany of accomplishments.
   
In guiding last year’s Toros to their deepest post-season run in the history of the program, CSUDH set 24 combined individual and team records, tying the school record of 46 wins established in 2005, and setting the record for fewest losses with 11.  CSUDH boasted three All-Region selections and seven All-CCAA honorees, and reached the 30-win plateau for the sixth-consecutive season.
   
In 2005, Maier led the Toros to their first CCAA Championship since 1983, and was named the CCAA Coach of the Year, Maier’s first such award.  In that record-breaking campaign, CSUDH set a total of 27 individual and team records, and tied six others.  The Toros also hosted the 2005 NCAA DII Far West Softball Regional for the first time in school history.  CSUDH, led by CCAA MVP, 2nd-team All-American and 1st-team All-Region selections Valerie Long and Kate Groden, clinched the CCAA title in mid-April, winning the CCAA Conference by five games.
   
Four seasons ago, the Toros finished 6th in the conference, but qualified for the NCAA playoffs and won their first postseason contest in school history with a 7-0 drubbing of Cal State Bakersfield en route to winning nearly 60% of its overall games.  In 2003, CSUDH finished with a 37-17-1, 23-9 CCAA record, which established the then-highest number of wins in the program’s history and qualified the Toros for the NCAA postseason for the first time in over a decade.

In his seven years at the helm of the CSUDH softball ship, 38 of Maier’s players have been selected to All-CCAA teams, 11 have been tabbed All-West Region, and one, the 2005 CCAA MVP and holder of 17 Toro records in Perry-Brown, twice has been named an All-American.
   
Just 48 wins away from 300 in his CSUDH career, Maier’s philosophy to the game has served the softball program well during his tenure. 
   
Always focused, he stresses the importance of every action having a purpose, both on the softball diamond and in everyday life in general.  “The main thing is just to show (the players) that everything we do is important,” he stresses.  “We have a philosophy behind everything we do, offensively, defensively, how we want to pitch.  When you make it important for them, they’ll rise to the occasion.  We’ve raised the bar and this is what is now expected.”
   
Maier readily admits that he recruits great people first, and great athletes second.  Luckily for him and for the Cal State Dominguez Hills, his recruits have given the Toros softball program the best of both worlds.  However, the former St. Paul HS coach who guided that program to 14-consecutive playoff appearances acknowledges that more is needed than great people and great athletes to achieve success, and that hard work, dedication and commitment are as crucial as a quick bat, a steady glove and a great eye. 
   
The key for success and permanence, Maier emphasizes, begins with everyone involved in the program.  He notes how his players have accepted this responsibility, how they practice it on the softball field, and how it has been reflected in their demeanor both on and off the field. 
   
“Before every practice and every game they go arm in arm before stretching and they talk about commitment to each other,” Maier explains.  “They don’t look ahead, they don’t look back.  We have a motto that says ‘When you walk through that gate (leading to Toro Diamond), you leave all your baggage up there.’  You commit to each other and have great perspective for the three hours you’re with us.  It’s more about team and the teammates’ commitment than it is about goals.”
   
Maier’s success started well before his days on the Carson campus.  As a coach at St Paul High School, Maier compiled an incredible 300-78 career record while leading the Swordsmen to seven Del Rey League titles and the CIF Division I State Championship in 1988.  During his final year as a prep coach, Maier led the Swordsmen to their 14th-consecutive berth in the CIF playoffs and a trip to the CIF quarterfinals.
   
During his stewardship at St. Paul, Maier coached 25 players who earned college scholarships, including nine at the NCAA Division I level.  He also coached 17 different All-CIF players including CIF Player of the Year Keri Kropke, who continued her career at UC Berkeley. 
   
Coach Maier is a 1987 graduate of Cal State Fullerton, earning a degree in Sociology.  He earned his master’s degree in Athletic Administration from Azusa Pacific University in 1995.  Maier and Lori, his wife of 13 years, reside in La Habra with their sons Jake (11), Jared (7) and Kyle (5).
CCAA Overall
  W L T W L T Finish Postseason
2001 16 16 --- 36 27 --- 6th CCAA  
2002 20 12 --- 32 22 --- 3rd CCAA  
2003 23 9 --- 37 17 1 3rd CCAA NCAA 1st Rd.
2004 18 18 --- 33 22 1 6th CCAA NCAA 2nd Rd.
2005 23 5 --- 46 12 --- 1st CCAA NCAA 2nd Rd.
2006 21 7 --- 46 11 --- 2nd CCAA NCAA Regional Championship Series
2007 10 22 --- 22 30 --- 7th CCAA  
Total 131 89 - 252 141 2    

Overall Winning Percentage - 64.1%
CCAA Winning Percentage - 59.5%

1 player has been selected as All-American two times
11 players have been selected All-West Region
38 players have been selected All-CCAA